


If Only

by wefellasangels



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Gen, Lawyer Sam Winchester, Post-Episode: s01e01 Pilot, Sam-Centric, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 15:00:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4184244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wefellasangels/pseuds/wefellasangels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lawyer!Sam AU that would take place after the Pilot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Only

**Author's Note:**

> requested by @fangirlbillie on tumblr

THEN: 2005

“So? How’d it go?”

Drying his hair with a towel, Sam walks out of the bathroom to find Jessica sitting cross-legged on their bed, looking up at him expectantly.

“Good,” Sam replies. He throws his towel over the bathroom door and walks over to the bed, sitting down next to his girlfriend. “It was good. Dean and I, we were…we were able to find our dad. Turns out he and his buddies just got themselves lost out hunting. No big deal.”

Sam smiles easily, but it’s another lie. Their dad was no longer in Jericho, and had left them coordinates for somewhere in Colorado…but Sam was done. He had sworn he was done hunting a long time ago and his dad wanted nothing to do with him – and he planned to keep it that way. Anyway, Dean had been fine on his own for some time now and could take care of himself. Sam had his own things to worry about, such as –

“No, I meant the interview,” Jessica clarifies. “I mean, I’m happy that your dad is okay and everything…but how did the interview go? You were able to make it, right?”

“The interview? Yeah, course I made it,” Sam reassures her. By the time he and Dean returned last night, it was already after midnight. Sam had gone straight to bed in order to be up early for the interview next morning.

“I think it went well. I should be getting a call from them either today or tomorrow, so I guess we’ll see what happens.”

Jessica smiles proudly, resting a hand on the side of his face. “I’m sure you did fine, Sam. It’s your entire future on a plate, but you’ve got the grades, the experience – everything. That scholarship is yours, baby.”

Sam returns her smile, leaning forward to kiss her in gratitude.

…

They’re in the kitchen when the phone in the living room begins ringing. Jessica looks up from her mug of coffee as Sam places the dish he’s washing down in the sink, and they meet each other’s eyes. Suddenly, they both run to the phone, coffee left on the table and the faucet still running.

Wiping his soapy hands on his jeans, Sam clears his throat before answering the phone.

“Hello? Uh, yes, this is Sam Winchester…”

As Sam continues talking, Jessica listens to the one-sided conversation, eyes wide and heart racing.

“Yes….yes, I understand. Alright…well, thank you very much. Okay, bye.” Sam presses the ‘end call’ button, looking down at the phone in his hand a moment longer.

Jessica’s face falls and she begins to speak quietly. “Sam…I’m so s–“

“I got it,” Sam says quietly, looking up.                  

“What?”

“I got the scholarship, Jess!”

Jessica’s face lights up and her voice jumps about two octaves. “ _Really_?”

Sam nods and she gives a brief scream, throwing her arms around his neck. Sam laughs and picks her off the ground, dropping the phone as he secures his arms around her torso. After a few seconds, he puts Jessica back down, keeping his hands on her waist. Taking his face in her hands, Jessica gives him a quick peck on the lips and beams.

“I’m so proud of you, Sam! I knew you had that scholarship in the bag… A few more years of school and you’re gonna make such a great lawyer, baby.”

“Thanks, Jess. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

Jessica laughs and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, don’t you forget it, Sam Winchester.”

…

NOW: 2011

Sam jumps a little as a large stack of paperwork suddenly lands on his desk. Apprehensive, he looks up at the woman responsible for the jump-scare.

“Uh…what’s this?” Sam inquires, looking back at the mountain of folders and loose papers.

“That,” his boss begins. “Is your next breakthrough case. It’s your new assignment...your next promotion – it’s the check that’s gonna pay for your wedding.”

“Alright, so what’s the case?”

Smirking slightly, his boss takes a seat at one of the chairs in front of Sam’s desk and crosses her ankles under the chair, propping an arm on the armrest.

“This man has been charged with six counts of first degree murder and about twenty-seven counts of credit card fraud – and you’ve been assigned to defend him.”

Sam raises his eyebrows in shock. “To _defend_ a possible killer?” Sam shakes his head. He was a damn good defense attorney, but homicides were toxic in his eyes – they never ended well for the defense. ”Look, I don’t think-“

Suddenly, his boss is leaning forward and is on the edge of her seat, voice low and intense.

“Sam, listen to me: I wouldn’t have given you this case if I had any other choice. I know murder isn’t your cup of tea, but they asked for the best – and you’re it. Now, the prosecution has a good case, but the evidence is circumstantial at best…”

For the next several minutes, Sam’s boss fills him in on the details of the case. From what he gathers, they were dealing with an intelligent and resourceful serial killer: completely off the radar until he was apprehended less than a week ago.

“Found at a Gas-N-Sip on the outskirts of Seattle,” she tells him. “Police took him into custody and now he’s awaiting trial here in San Francisco.”

Sam nods, already beginning to put together a defense case in his mind. “So when’s the trial?”

“In three weeks,” she replies, standing up. “Think you can put something together by then?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

“Excellent,” his boss replies. “Knew I could count on you, Sam.” As she begins to head to the door, two more things occur to Sam.

“Hold on,” he says, standing up. “When will I get to speak with him before the trial?”

His boss turns around and leans against the inside of the doorway. “Oh, you won’t. The police said he’s too dangerous, so they’re not allowing any visitors without a PhD in medicine to see him.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. Any other questions?”

“His name? I didn’t see it on any of the case files.”

She smirks again. “A _name_? He has 27 counts of credit card fraud and you think we’re gonna have records of his _actual_ name? Sorry, Sam – no dice.”

…

Only three weeks to put together a defense for a fraudulent serial killer and he couldn’t meet with his client. But somehow he had put a case together.

It took almost a week just to go through the paperwork: reading over witness statements and police reports for each of the six murder cases; reviewing the credit card fraud claims filed for several different companies…and not to mention having to piece together the little information collected on his client.

Sleepless nights, skipped meals, and too much caffeine made the three weeks go by faster than he liked, but walking into the courthouse now, Sam feels prepared. As long as he gets at least ten minutes to confer with his client before the trial began, they would be just fine.

Walking through the hallway, Sam checks his watch: he was an hour early. Within five minutes, he finds the courtroom and makes his way to the front, sitting at the table on the left side of the court. Pulling his chair closer to the table, he places his briefcase on the table, opens it, and begins reviewing his case for a final time.

…

The trial begins in fifteen minutes and his client should be here in five. Most of the jury has arrived and taken their places, as well as the witnesses. The prosecutor sits across the aisle from Sam, also reviewing his case. When Sam looks over, their eyes meet. Clearing his throat, Sam nods curtly and returns his gaze back quickly to his files.

Five minutes until the trial begins and the judge calls the court to order. As the judge speaks, Sam knows it’s too late – there’s no way he’ll be able to confer with his client pre-trial. They would have to wing it.

At least, that what he thinks until the judge asks for the defendant to be brought in…and he sees who his client is.

“Oh, God,” Sam mutters under his breath.

Wearing a suit, but still sporting handcuffs, Sam’s client grins at him as he’s brought to the table by a security guard and is placed in the seat next to him.

“Heya, Sammy,” he greets quietly.

Sam clenches his jaw and speaks through his teeth. “Dean…what the _hell_?”

“Good to see you too, Sam. I’m doing fine, thanks.”

“Dean,” Sam hisses. “This isn’t funny. What-“

“Is everything alright, counsel?” the judge asks, watching the exchange between the brothers.

“Yes, your honor. Everything is fine,” Sam answers dryly.

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

Sam nods. _At least we’ll be able to wing it_ , Sam thinks. God knows they’ve had years of practice.

…

It had been a shifter committing the murders. But neither the jury nor the judge knew that. And Sam hadn’t been 100% sure at first, either, until Dean had walked into the court room. But there was no way that Dean could have been in two places at once, and that’s all the jury _needed_ to know in order for them to win the case.

Witnesses to the six murders placed a man with Dean’s description at the scene of the crime in each instance. However, another set of witnesses swore up and down that Dean had been with them when each of the murders were committed – and there was video footage to prove it four of six times. Sam’s conclusion: not only was Dean famed, but someone had gone to great lengths to ensure that his face could be placed at each of the crime scenes. And, Sam theorized, this person was most likely responsible for the credit card frauds as well…committing them in Dean’s name. The prosecution didn’t have enough to dispute Dean’s alibies or Sam’s fraud theory, and cross examination was a bust with so much circumstantial evidence floating in the air.  

Lucky for Sam, he didn’t have to tell Dean to plead innocent on all charges.

Lucky for Sam, Dean didn’t bring up any details he wasn’t directly asked about.

Lucky for Sam, another murder had taken place while the trial was taking place – reports of a man fitting Dean’s description killing two employees in a bank robbery on the other side of the country.

“How could he _possibly_ be in two places at once? Unless he has twin… And even then, he wouldn’t be guilty. He wouldn’t have been the one to pull the trigger…”

…

“Thanks, Sam…I definitely owe you one.”

Sam rolls his eyes and gives a short, half-hearted laugh. “Don’t thank me; just make sure you clean up your messes, alright?”

Dean gives a small smile and puts his hand out. “Will do.”

Sam reaches out and shakes his brother’s hand. He hasn’t Dean in so long, and though he wishes circumstances were different, Sam’s glad to see his brother well – well, _alive_ at the very least.

They stand near the entrance of the courthouse, just about ready to leave. Sam knows the press is waiting outside, cameras and audio recording devices poised to freeze the next few moments in time. The defense lawyer who cleared a man of six murder charges and endless counts of fraud, and the man in question, now walking free. It was the case of the decade.

Taking a deep breath, Sam looks at Dean. “Ready?”

“Let’s rock and roll, brother.”

Sam pushes the door open and the cameras go off like fireworks. Once outside, they are instantly overwhelmed with questions.

“Sam Winchester: you just spared a man from a lifetime sentence – or possibly a _death_ sentence. How does it feel knowing you, essentially, saved someone’s life?”

Briefly, Sam looks to his left and sees Dean watching him, a subtly proud expression on his face.

“Sometimes you can’t save everyone,” Sam begins. “But it’s the ones you _do_ save that count. And that’s my job, you know? Saving people…”

_…hunting things; the family business_ , Sam thinks _._

 

**Author's Note:**

> the request (placed at end to avoid spoilers): "au: Sam makes the lawyer interview he becomes a big time lawyer 6 years later he gets his next big case the guys wanted on multiple charges of murder and credit card fraud he doesn't know it but they day of the case in walks dean in handcuffs and a grin on his face and Sam had defend him and they win and dean gets off a free man"


End file.
